The Niece Who Came for Dinner, and Stayed
by ultimatestranger16
Summary: Ziva's niece Sammie has come to live with her, and Sammie is determined to get Ziva and Tony together. Will she succeed?
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so this is my first fanfiction. Be kind! I do not own the characters. I wish I did but I don't. Enjoy!

" Hey Aunt Ziva. How's it going?"

" Fine. How was school today?"

" Great. Oh, by the way, Ms. Portman wants to you to fill in for her as chaperone at the Valentine's Day dance."

"WHAT?"

This was all new to Ziva. Her niece, Sammie, the daughter of her older sister, had just recently moved in with her after her sister and brother in law had died in a car crash. Everyone at NCIS had been thoroughly shocked to find out that Ziva had a teenager living with her, but Tony had been the only one to put his shock into words.

" What are you doing with a teenager and why is it still alive?" Tony had asked Ziva the first day that Sammie had come to see her after school. Ziva had continually asked her self that same question for about 7 months now.

" Ziva, you have to chaperone the dance, you're the only mom... I mean guardian that she likes. You have to remember I go to a private school for rich kids. All the moms are gold diggers and most of them are step moms who are only a few years older than the seniors," Sammie persisted.

" I am NOT chaperoning a high school dance!"

" You can bring a date," Sammie told her in a sing song voice.

" And who am I supposed to bring?"

" Tony of course."

That is when someone finally butted into the conversation.

" There is no way in hell that I am going to chaperone a high school dance," Tony said.

"Come on Uncle Tony, it'll be fun," said Sammie, calling Tony by the nickname she had given him in order to drive Ziva up the walls.

"NO!"

"NO!"


	2. Chapter 2

" I will never figure out how you talked me and Tony into this," Ziva said as she tried to figure out what to wear to the dance.

" Your secret love for Tony of course." Sammie loved to tease Ziva about Tony.

" Will you shut up and help me pick something out?"

"Sure, Mrs. DiNozzo," Sammie said, promptly dodging the shoe Ziva then threw at her.

" Fine, I'll stop," said Sammie. She got up off the bed and began rummaging through Ziva's closet.

" Is this all you have? This stuff is crap! Let me get you one of my dresses," Sammie said, and then rushed to her bedroom and grabbed something from her overflowing closet.

"Here. Wear this," she said, tossing Ziva a pretty red dress. "Not too sleazy, but just enough to make heads turn. Especially Tony's."

"Why do you keep bugging me about Tony?"

" One, coz it's fun. Two, coz it proves how much you like him. If you didn't like him it wouldn't bother you so much."

"I don't like him. He's just my partner. That's all."

"Ziva and Tony, sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N... OWW! What was that?"

"A 'Gibbs slap'"

"You're a Mossad and the best you can do is a 'Gibbs slap'?"

"Be glad that was all it was. Are you gonna help me get ready or not?"


	3. Chapter 3

An hour later Sammie had finally finished getting Ziva and herself ready.

"Why do I look more dressed up than you," asked Ziva.

"Because I got carried away. Don't worry. I'm actually underdressed. The girls always wear over-the-top dress and have on too much make-up. I actually attract more guys dressing this way. You just need to attract one guy who's name is-"

DING-DONG

The doorbell rang, cutting off Sammie's sentence.

"That must be Tony. Will you get the door Sammie? I just want to grab my coat."

Sammie went and answered the door and stepped out to give Tony a last minute pep talk.

"Now remember, her favorite slow song is "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Can you remember that?"

"I think so."

Sammie and Tony had been secretly working together to get Ziva and Tony out on a date together. This was the closest they were gonna get to one. In fact, Sammie had set it all up. She had asked her favorite teacher Ms. Portman, the history teacher, if she the take the night to spend it with her boyfriend and ask Ziva to fill in for her at the dance. But Tony had been serious when he said he didn't want to do it.

"Why couldn't you have just set us up on a blind date?"

"Coz Ziva would know something was up and would conveniently not be able to go. I think she's a bit suspicious about this too. But she can't back out of this one so don't worry."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Valentine's Day," Tony said handing Sammie a small box of candy. In his other hand he held a bouquet of roses for Ziva.

"Thanks Tony," Sammie said.

She opened the door and let Tony inside, only to discover Ziva in a completely different, super boring and unattractive outfit.

"Why the hell did you change your outfit," Sammie screamed, and then dragged Ziva back to her bedroom and made sure that she left the house in the outfit that Sammie had picked out for her. When they finally emerged from Ziva's room(it took some time coz Ziva fought tooth and nail the whole time) Tony was amazed at how beautiful she looked.

"Wow, you look amazing!"

Ziva wore a knee length, sleeveless red dress. Her hair was in loose curls and she wore hoop earrings and a heart shaped pendent.

" Thanks Tony. Sammie picked it out for me," Ziva said, blushing at Tony's reaction.

"Happy Valentine's Day Ziva," Tony said and handed her the bouquet of roses.

"Thank you Tony," Ziva said, blushing even more.

"Well, let's get this show on the road! We're running late," Sammie said, tossing the car keys to Tony.

"You're driving. I want to get there in one piece."


	4. Chapter 4

When they arrived at Sammie's school, Sammie immediately ditched them, wanting to give them some "alone time."

"What the hell am I supposed to do," Ziva asked in a panic.

"It's easy. You can stand there, you can sit down," Sammie said matter-of-factly. "Dance," she added slyly.

" I can't dance."

"So? I can't either. Just have fun! See ya later!" And with that Sammie left Ziva standing there in awkward silence with Tony.

"You want something to drink?" Tony asked Ziva, attempting to break the silence.

"Sure." The answer was short. This made Tony worried. Normally she would've asked if the punch was spiked before giving an answer(he had heard this from her at couple of office parties). He was in for a long night.

A couple of hours later and there was still and awkward silence between them. They had tried small talk, even discussed a couple of cases at NCIS, but still Ziva's answers were guarded and brief. At one point he seemed to have made a breakthrough when he asked her about Sammie.

"So, Sammie is Ari's daughter?"

"No," Ziva said, sounding sounding surprised at the thought.

"She's my half sister's adopted daughter."

"Adopted? She looks just like you!"

That's because..." Here Ziva paused, as if contemplating the consequences of finishing the sentence. "She's my daughter."

"How is that possible?" Tony asked after a moment of stunned silence.

"My sister Sandi was older than me, and she lived here in the US with her husband. I came to stay with her one summer when I was 14. I got raped by one of her husband's friends. She and her husband were the only ones who believed me when I said it was raped. She adopted Sammie so that she could stay in the family." Then, as if shocked that she was revealing all of this to Tony, Ziva grew very quiet and didn't speak on that subject again.

Tony was just beginning to wonder when the dance was gonna end when he finally heard the sound of one of the songs Sammie had told him that Ziva liked.

_When I see your smile_

_Tears run down my face_

_I can't replace_

It was now or never at this point. Either ask Ziva to dance or forever regret not doing so.

_Now that I'm strong I have figured out_

_How this world turns cold_

_In a place in my soul and I know_

_I'll find deep inside me_

_I can be the one_

"Want to dance?" Tony asked Ziva apprehensively.

"Okay, but I don't know how."

"It's easy. Just follow my lead." Tony said, and overcoming the strong temptation to start doing the robot, he led Ziva onto the dance floor.

_I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

Suddenly all of the tension and awkwardness melted away. Even though there was silence between them, it was a happy silence.

_It's ok_

_Its ok_

_It's okayayay_

_Seasons are changing and waves are crashing ad stars are falling all for us_

_Days grow longer and nights grow shorter_

_I can show you I'll be the one_

Ziva laid her head on Tony's chest. It just felt so comfortable, so natural...

_I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

_'Cause you're my, you're my, myeyey_

_My true love_

_My whole heart_

_Please don't throw that away_

_'Cause I'm here for you_

_Please don't walk away and_

_Please tell me you'll stay_

Ziva looked up at Tony and their faces grew closer and closer, they were about to kiss...

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you Sammie's aunt?"

The magic spell that seemed to have bound Ziva and Tony vanished with the sound of the ignorant teenager.

"Yes I am. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Sammie sprained her ankle."

"We better get her home," Ziva said to Tony.

Meanwhile Sammie was having a fit. She had seen how close Ziva and Tony had gotten to kissing and she was furious with her friend Carrie for interrupting them.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She said to Carrie when Ziva's head was turned.

"You're hurt! I figured I should get your aunt!"

"See that guy with my aunt?"

"Yeah. He's hot."

"He and my aunt are totally head over heels for each other, but my aunt wont admit it. I'm trying to get them together!"

"Sorry. I am warned for next time."

"If there is a next time."


	5. Chapter 5

They arrived back at Ziva's house, with Sammie muttering to herself in Hebrew the whole time.

"What is she saying?" Tony asked at one point.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Ziva replied.

Sammie's friend was right in getting Ziva. Her ankle had swollen to twice it's size. It hurt so badly that Tony had to carry her to her bedroom.

"At least I wont have to go to school tomorrow." Was the only bright side that Sammie could see about it. Then suddenly another happy thought came into her mind.

"Can I go to work with you tomorrow Ziva?"

"I guess, considering they wont let you into school with crutches anymore. I would be too worried about leaving you at home with your ankle like that."

"Well, I better be going. Gibbs will kill me if I'm late again this week," Tony said.

"I'll walk you out," Ziva replied.

Once at the door, a thought came to Tony.

"Why don't I pick you up in the morning? My car has a bit more room than your Mini Cooper. It'd be more comfortable for Sammie," Tony said.

"Will you get here on time?"

"I promise. Pinky Swear."

"Pinky Swear?" Ziva asked.

"Never mind. I'll be here. 8 o'clock?"

"We'll see you then."

"Alright. See you tomorrow." And with that Tony, ever so gently gave Ziva a kiss on the cheek. Tony left so quickly after that daring moment that he failed to see the look of happiness on Ziva's face.


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell did you do to her"

"What the hell did you do to her"  
Sammie was interrogating Tony on the phone concerning Ziva's dreamlike state since Tony had left the night before.

"I kissed her the cheek that's all, I swear."

"Well it must have been a damn good kiss, coz she's been acting REALLY weird. She said good night to me last night."

"And that's weird because…"

"Because she said it in English! She always says Laila tov, which is good night in Hebrew. Are you on your way?"

"I'm a block away. I brought breakfast. See you in a minute."

Tony had decided to come early and bring breakfast from Carl's Jr. Five minutes later the three of them were all sitting down at Ziva's dinning room table in an uncomfortable silence.

"So," Tony began, trying to break the silence. "How's your ankle this morning Sammie?"

"It's a little better. The swelling has gone down but it still hurts like hell and I still need these damn crutches."

Ziva flashed Sammie a small warning look for swearing in English, something that always confused both Sammie and Tony. Swearing in Hebrew was fine with Ziva, but the English bugged her.

"I think we should get going. We need to be there at 8:30," said Ziva, speaking for the first time since Tony had arrived.

"Ok, I need to grab my backpack. I have some homework I can do while I'm there. Ziva will you help me?" Sammie wanted to talk to Ziva privately.

When they got to Sammie's room Sammie began to argue with Ziva.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I know you like Tony! I can see it when you look at him! I could see it last night when you were dancing with him! Why wont you admit the way you feel about him? It's not good to keep these feelings all bottled up inside!"

Ziva remained completely silent during Sammie's little rant. She didn't even respond to it. She simply asked Sammie where her backpack was and if she needed anything else.

"Does Tony have a CD player in his car?" Sammie finally asked. Ziva merely nodded. Sammie grabbed a CD. It was her last resort CD. On it was a bunch of songs that Ziva loved but would never admit to loving. Songs like Taylor Swift's Tear Drops on My Guitar and My Immortal by Evanescence. All Sammie could do now was hope that the songs would have some effect on Ziva. But they didn't. Not visibly anyway. Her face remained perfectly blank the whole car ride to NCIS. The rest was gonna be up to Tony. Sammie could only do so much.


	7. Chapter 7

There was still tension between all of them when they finally arrived at NCIS. They hadn't spoken at all since they had left Ziva's apartment. They were relieved when they finally arrived. It was then that Sammie dared to speak.

"I'm gonna go hang out with Abby," Sammie said and started to leave.

"Oh no you don't. You said you had homework, so you're doing your homework," said Ziva.

"I am doing my homework. I just don't want to have to go up the stairs to the directors office yet. It's for Career Planning. I have to write a report about a place that I want to work in someday, and interview people who work in that place. Here, I'll show you." Sammie began digging in her backpack to find the paper with her instructions for her report.

"Here," she said, handing her the paper.

"Fine,"said Ziva giving in.

"Alright, see ya!" And with that Sammie went hobbling on her crutches to the lab.

Ziva and Tony both went to their desks to begin working on paperwork. But Tony didn't start right away. When he sat down at his desk, he discovered an envelope addressed to him on his desk. And it was in Kate's handwriting. He picked it up tenderly, unsure if it was real. It was very much real, and he opened it and pulled out the letter inside and read it.

_Dear Tony,_

_First of all, this is real. Don't expect it to happen again though. I only get to do this once. Most of us do it right after we die to let someone know that we're okay, but I chose to wait, to do it when someone needed my help instead. And you are gonna need help. I can't tell you when, but I can prepare you. Remember that Ziva said that there are 18 ways to kill someone with a paperclip? Here's one. Unfold the paper clip and stab the target in the jugular vein. It does work. And one more thing. Tell Ziva the truth. You'll know what I mean when it happens. I miss you. Give the team my love._

_Love,_

_Kate_

Tony couldn't believe what he was reading. Was it really possible to get a letter from heaven? There was no way in hell he was gonna give the team Kate's love. They'd have him locked up in an insane asylum. As he was contemplating what to make of the letter, he noticed out of them corner of his eye Sammie trying to sneak up the stairs to the directors office, and doing quite a good job of it, considering she was using crutches. Ziva noticed it too, but chose not to say anything.

**Ok, I know this wasn't one of my best chapters, but I had writers block with this chapter. Let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

After much effort, Sammie finally made it to Jen's office, and proceeded to collapse into the comfy chair in front of her desk.

"Ms. Shepherd," Sammie began after letting her heart rate get back to normal. "I need some advice."

"Well, first of all, please call me Jen." Sammie, out of respect, always called Jen Ms. Shepherd first before she would call her anything else. "Second, what do you need advice about?"

"What do you think?" Sammie said, quickly going back into teenage chatter mode.

"I've been coming to you for advice on the same thing every day for two months!"

"To be honest, I had hoped it was something different. Why do you keep worrying about your mothers love life?"

"I just want her to be happy."

Sammie had accidentally let it slip to Jen that Ziva was her mother. Ziva had no clue that Sammie knew the truth, but Sandi had told Sammie when she was eight years old.

"It's up to Ziva, sweetheart. You can't control what she does. You can do all the pushing and prodding you want, but in the end it's out of your hands."

"But she's afraid! She's afraid to show emotion! She's afraid to show any feelings! It's like she thinks that if she shows emotion it will make her weak. So she'll never admit on her own that she's in love with Tony!"

"It's out of your hands Sammie. What will be will be."

"I just hope something happens before it's too late." This always worried Sammie. She was sure that by the time Ziva would admit to having feelings for Tony, it would be too late.

"Anywho, I needed to see you for something else too," said Sammie, and then began asking her questions about her job at NCIS.

**I wanted to include Jen somehow, so I thought a conversation between her and Sammie would be a nice way to do it.**


	9. Chapter 9

Ziva needed someone to talk to. Her first thought was Jen, but Sammie had beaten her to it, so she went to Abby instead.

"Abby, I need some advice."

"Sure. What do you want?"

"Well, um..." Ziva wasn't sure how to present her problem to Abby.

"A friend of mine," Ziva began, afraid to admit she was talking about herself.

"You love Tony don't you," Abby interjected.

"How did you know?"

"It's so obvious. We've always figured you liked him."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Me, Gibbs, McGee, Jen, Ducky, even Palmer."

At this Ziva's face became quite red.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about Ziva," said Abby, trying to calm Ziva's fears.

"Gibbs knows?" Ziva asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but don't worry. He's willing to make exceptions to rule number twelve. He did for me and McGee."

"What?! You and McGee are dating?!"

"Engaged actually," Abby said showing Ziva her ring. "Happened last night."

" Congratulations Abby," said Ziva giving Abby a hug, something she didn't do to often.

"So, what should I do about Tony?" Ziva asked.

"Just tell him how you feel."

"I can't. I don't know how."

"You just tell him. You do it when it's the right time."

"How do I know when it's the right time?"

"You just know. I can't explain it. It's just something you know."

"Well, thanks Abby. I better get back to work." And with that Ziva left the lab.

**I wanted to show Ziva opening up to someone, and I wanted to include Abby. Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, McGee, can I ask you something?" said Tony.

"Depends," said McGee. "Does it end in my humiliation?"

"No."

"Ok, shoot."

"Ok, so I have this friend who really likes one of his coworkers, but he's not sure if he should tell her how he feels. Plus she has a teenager. What should he do?"

"Well, what is the coworker like?"

"Well, um..." Tony wasn't expecting that.

"From they way he describes her," he said, putting emphasis on the word describes.

"She's like Ziva.

"She can kill people with paperclips?"

"No," said Tony a little annoyed. "She has her personality."

"Ok, and the kid?"

"She's like Sammie."

"I'd say go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Did I mention they're coworkers?"

"So? Abby and I are coworkers and we're engaged."

"WHAT?"

"Happened last night."

"Did she ask you?" Tony said with a smirk.

"No, I asked her."

"Well congrats McGee. Now back to my problem. So my friend should just ask the girl out?"

"Yeah, that's what I'd do."

"Well thanks for the advice McGee." Tony felt like he had gotten no help at all.

"No problem. Hope everything goes well with you and Ziva."

"How did you know..."

Gibbs interrupted Tony before he could finish his sentence.

"DiNozzo, where's Ziva? I need you two to go check out a murder called in to us on Fourth and Park."

"We're on it boss." Ziva said, who had just come back from talking with Abby.

"You gonna say good bye to Sammie?" Tony asked.

"No, she'll be fine. I'm driving," Ziva said, taking the car keys from Tony.

"And I'm dead." Tony said, and started praying for his safety as they got into the elevator.

**I thought of this as I was trying to fall asleep, and thought it would be funny to include. Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

After a terrifying car ride, Ziva and Tony arrived at the crime scene.

"Yep, she's a victim of our serial killer. Dark hair, Star of David necklace. Third on this month," Tony said.

"Wait a minute," said Ziva. " I know this girl. She was Ari's fiance. She left him at the alter. And she was mossad."

"What is her name? I can have them run a back round check on her ahead of time."

"Anna Kardashian. Half Israeli, half Armenian. Born January 9, 1978. Blood type AB negative."

"Did you regularly memorize the information of your brother's girlfriends?" Tony asked sarcastically as he dialed McGee's number.

"I worked with her on an assignment once. That's how she met my brother," said Ziva.

"It's weird how these murders were called in to us before the cops," said Ziva. "Is that normal?"

"No. I think whoever is killing these girls wants to be..."

"Shh, I think I hear someone," said Ziva as she drew out her gun and crept around the corner of the house.

Tony barely had any time to react to what she had just said before he heard a muffled scream. He dropped his phone and ran in the direction of the scream, drawing out his gun as he ran. The scene that he met was a scene he hoped he would never see again. A man that looked strongly related to Ziva had a knife at Ziva's throat.

"Who are you?" Tony asked, trying to keep the situation calm.

"I'm Ziva's uncle, Eifah." This explained the strong resemblance.

"Why are you doing this?" The more questions the better, Tony felt. The questions would hopefully distract Eifah, making it easier for Ziva to get away.

"I am avenging my nephew, Ari. I started with the ones that caused him pain. And now I shall finish with one who killed him."

" Ari was a murderer!" Ziva interjected. "I had no choice! He was about to kill someone!"

""He didn't deserve to die!" Ziva's uncle yelled, tightening his hold on her. He had her in front of him has a human shield. Eifah was taller than Ziva, so Tony had a shot at the forehead, but he was afraid to take that shot. He didn't want to hit Ziva. He would never forgive himself if he shot Ziva by accident.

"Drop your gun or I'll slit her throat," Eifah said, sensing Tony's apprehension to shoot.

"I can shoot you faster than you can slit her throat." If Tony bluffed, maybe Ducky would get there in time to call for backup.

"No you wont. I can tell."

"Yes I will," said Tony, and he prepared to shoot, but then he stopped. He had made the mistake of looking Ziva right in the eyes, and he saw the fear in her eyes. It was something he had never seen before. He couldn't shoot. He couldn't take that risk. He lowered his gun.

"See, I knew you wouldn't shoot. Now drop your gun and turn around." Tony obeyed. Then he felt a hard blow to the back of his head, and then everything went black.

**You like? Is it suspenseful? In case you are wondering, Eifah is pronounced ee-fa. It's a Hebrew name and it means darkness and gloom. Let me know what you think so far! Hit the blue button and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Where's Ziva?"

Sammie had just come down from Jen's office and was surprised to not see Ziva at her desk.

"A call came in. Gibbs sent Ziva and Tony," McGee replied.

"Oh," said Sammie, looking a little upset.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that Ziva always says good bye to me before she leaves, that's all."

Sammie was beginning to regret her angry words with Ziva that morning. She regretted them even more when Gibbs came into the room.

"Ziva and Tony are missing," he said.

"WHAT?" said Sammie and McGee in unison.

"Ducky just got there. He found Ziva and Tony's cell phones, but no Ziva and Tony. McGee, bring up the pictures of the previous victims, pictures from the crime scenes, anything that might help us find them."

McGee pulled them pictures of the victims up first, and when Sammie saw those pictures on the big screen, she let out an audible gasp.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked.

"Those were Ari's girlfriends! Those two are the only ones that dumped him!"

Then Sammie came to a sudden realization.

"I think I know who the killer is!"

"Who do you think it is?" asked Gibbs, not really taking her seriously.

"My great uncle Eifah David. This is something he would do. He loved Ari like a son. If someone caused Ari any pain, he went after them."

"How would you know? You weren't even alive."

"Well, I have witnessed much from Uncle Eifah, including him going after people who had done something bad to Ari. He's your killer."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Do you have any fingerprints?"

"Yes, we do. Unidentified."

"Here, you can now identify them," Sammie said, handing him an unopened envelope. "It's my birthday card from Eifah. He sent it early, so I haven't opened it yet. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't think I am."

And she wasn't. The fingerprints matched. They had found their killer.

"Alright McGe, you're coming with me. This guy lives an hour away from here, so we need to get moving if we want to see Tony and Ziva alive again," said Gibbs.

When they left, Sammie sat down at Ziva's desk a burst into tears. She knew what Eifah David was capable of, and she knew it would take a miracle for her to Ziva alive again.

"I didn't even get to say good bye," she said to herself, and sobbed even harder. Jen heard her sobs and tried to comfort her as best as she could.

"Ziva will be fine," Jen said. "She's the toughest woman I know. She'll be ok." But no matter what Jen said, Sammie could not be comforted. Even Abby couldn't put a smile on her face. It was Sandi all over again. Nothing to but wait for news, just like that night of the accident, only now she had no hope. She was going to loose her mother again, and this was too much for her to bear.

**So far so good? I know I kinda rushed through the whole figuring out who the killer was thing, but again I had writers block. So please review and tell me what you think! Anonymous reviews accepted.**


	13. Chapter 13

When Tony came to, he found himself tied up in a dark basement. He looked around and saw Ziva untying herself.

"What happened? Where are we?" Tony asked.

"We're in my uncle's basement," said Ziva and told him what had happened after he was knocked out, which wasn't much since Ziva was knocked out shortly after, with a nice sized lump on the back of her head to prove it.

"Now for my next question, why is your uncle on a rampage for your brother?"

"Uncle Eifah loved Ari like a son. Ari was perfect in his eyes. He never cared for me much. I, who did everything perfectly, good grades, never got into trouble, was never good enough for him. But to him, Ari was perfection."

By now Ziva had finished untying herself and had almost finished untying Tony, but she stopped. There must have been some painful memories because the tears were beginning to flow freely. Whether it was the thought of Ari , or memories from her childhood, Tony didn't know. All he could do was finish untying himself and pull Ziva into a tight embrace, and try to comfort her. By now Ziva had started to openly sob on Tony's shoulder.

"So," Tony began once Ziva had calmed down. "If your uncle was out to kill you, why did he kill the other three victims?"

"The first two were Ari's ex-girlfriends," Ziva said, with a slight sniffle. "They both cheated on him. And like I said earlier, the other girl left him at the alter. Could you help me find a paperclip? Eifah took mine."

"Here," said Tony, handing her one of the paperclips from in his pocket. She straightened it out, and then, as if on cue, her uncle entered the basement, carrying Tony's gun.

Ziva had by now stopped crying, but the evidence of her tears still remained. Her face was red and tear stained, and there was a very large wet spot on Tony's jacket where Ziva had been crying.

"So, are you ready to pay for killing Ari, or do I have to make you suffer first?" said Eifah, pointing the gun first at Ziva then at Tony.

"Leave Tony out of this," said Ziva.

"Why? Why should I? Is he special to you? Do you love him?" said Eifah, cocking the gun, getting ready to shoot Tony. Ziva's silence said it all. If these allegations were false, Ziva would've said so. Her uncle seemed to know this as well, because he began to pull back the trigger, but Ziva lunged at her uncle, trying to knock the gun out of his hand, but was unsuccessful.

BANG!

The gun went off and then everything went black.

**Like the cliffhanger? Let me know by hitting the little blue button down there and writing a review!**


	14. Chapter 14

When Ziva came to, her first thought was Tony. Was he alright? She tried to get up, but was held back by the pain in her shoulder. When Ziva had tried to knock the gun out of Eifah's hands, it went off into her shoulder. Ziva managed to adjust herself into a more comfortable position and it was then that she saw her uncle, dead, lying in a pool of his own blood with a paperclip in his neck. Ziva could hear Tony yelling at the the door.

"Why are there some many damn keys?" she heard him yell.

"Tony," Ziva said. "What the hell happened?"

Just a sec, Ziva. I've only got a couple more keys to try," Tony said.

After trying two more keys, Tony finally had the door unlocked. He went upstairs to make sure that the coast was clear before carefully carrying Ziva up the basement stairs and laying her gently on the couch.

"Ok," said Ziva, "Now what happened?"

"After you passed out, I tried to get the gun away from your uncle. When that didn't work I stabbed him in the jugular with another paperclip I had in my pocket."

"How did you know to do that?" Ziva asked

"I don't know," Tony lied. He didn't want to say anything about Kate's letter. He had decided to keep that to himself.

"Anyway, I took his key ring and went to unlock the basement door. Look at all these keys!" he said, holding up the key ring, which had at least 25 on it.

Ziva was about to ask Tony something else, but at that moment, Gibbs and McGee came crashing through the door.

"Where is he," asked Gibbs.

"In the basement. He's dead."

"Case closed."

**Anyone see the latest NCIS ep? I loved the part with Palmer describing shoes under hypnosis! Anyway, hit the little blue button and tell me what you think of this chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

When they arrived back at NCIS, Sammie screamed with joy.

"MOM!" she yelled, bear hugging Ziva, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"What did you call me?" Ziva managed to say through the pain of her shoulder.

"Mother told me the truth when I was eight. I wanted to know why I looked like you and not like her or Dad, so she told me. I know you're my mother." Sammie still had not let go of Ziva, but now Ziva didn't mind. She was glad that Sammie knew the truth. They had their first of many tender mother daughter moments. But it didn't last very long as both mother and daughter were suffering from intense pain; Sammie from her ankle, and Ziva from her shoulder.

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The next day, close to quitting time, something was still bothering Ziva. So she decided to get down to the bottom of it. She wrote something down on a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and when Gibbs and McGee weren't looking, tossed it over to Tony. It read,

_Meet me in the elevator in five minutes._

Tony wrote something on same piece of paper and tossed it back to Ziva.

_Sure, what's our excuse?_

_You'll see._

Five minutes later, Ziva got up saying she needed to get her pain killers from the car, and since Tony had driven her again, he needed to go with her because ha had the car keys. When they go in the elevator, Tony hit the stop button and waited for what Ziva wanted to ask him.

"Tony, " Ziva finally said. "Why didn't you shoot Eifah?"

"I couldn't get the gun away from him." He knew this isn't what she meant, but he was afraid to answer truthfully.

"That's not what I meant. I meant when Eifah dared you to shoot him while he the knife to my throat, why didn't you?"

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

"I... I don't know." Why couldn't he say it? It was so simple, such a short sentence...

"What do you mean you don't know?" said Ziva, confused and annoyed.

"The shot wasn't easy. I could've..." he trailed off.

"You could've what? Hit me"

"Yes, I could've hit you."

"So? In case you didn't notice, I got shot anyway," Ziva said, pointing at her injured shoulder.

"I..." He couldn't say it. It just wouldn't come out. He knew this is what Kate meant in the letter, but he couldn't do it.

"Forget it," said Ziva, moving to start the elevator up again.

Then he knew how to say it. He took her hand before she hit the stop button, and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. And it worked.

"I think I can accept that answer," Ziva said with a smile.

Out side of the elevator, Sammie was waiting for them to come back up. She knew something was fishy, because Ziva had put her painkillers in her desk. When Ziva and Tony came out of the elevator, Sammie could tell by the look on Ziva's face that Tony had finally kissed her. Sammie hobbled over to McGee's desk and held out her hand.

"Hand over the 50 McGee. I told you he'd finally kiss her in the elevator."

**THE END!! I will have author notes up soon. I have a sequel in mind. Should I do it? LET ME KNOW!! PLEASE REVIEW!!**


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